Brett Brown Cleans House of Assistant Coaching Staff, All Family Business Settled

Brett Brown Cleans House of Assistant Coaching Staff, All Family Business Settled

It's not gonna make too many headlines on city paper front pages the same day that the most successful manager in Phillies history is summarily dismissed, but it's worth noting that Charlie Manuel's removal from office is not the only coaching change that went down in Philly today. After brushing off questions about retaining the team's current assistant coaching staff for much of the week, new Sixers head coach Brett Brown brought the hammer down today on Michael Curry, Jeff Capel and Aaron McKie, none of whom will be brought back to the bench next year.

“This decision takes nothing away from the talent and loyalty of Michael Curry, Aaron McKie and Jeff Capel, but is more about making a fresh start here in Philadelphia,” said Brown in a statement released by Sixers PR. “I respect the way this staff did their job and how they handled themselves with tremendous class and professionalism, which needs to be acknowledged. I am grateful for all the work they've done this off-season leading up to this decision.”

It's a bummer of sorts, particularly for Curry, who was long jerked around as a possibility for the team's head coaching vacancy (even though you never got the feeling he was under real consideration) and now has to find a new job altogether. Still, it's probably for the best that the team move on entirely from the Doug Collins era, and if Brett Brown really is going to be here for four years, it seems fair he should be able to pick the staff he best feels will be able to implement his on-court vision, whatever that may be.

Let the search for new assistant coaching blood begin in Philadelphia. Does Charlie know anything about coordinating a flex offense, by chance?

Matt Rhule's first Baylor hires include 4 Temple assistants

Matt Rhule's first Baylor hires include 4 Temple assistants

WACO, Texas -- New Baylor coach Matt Rhule has made some immediate Texas connections by hiring the president of the state's high school coaches who is a former Bears receiver.

Rhule announced his first five hires with the Bears on Friday, three days after being named Baylor's coach. They include four members from his staff at Temple and David Wetzel, the head coach and athletic director the past 13 seasons at Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio.

Sean Padden will serve as Baylor's director of football operations, similar to his role at Temple the past four years.

Rhule didn't immediately announce the titles and job duties for Wetzel, Francis Brown, Mike Siravo and Evan Cooper. There was also no indication of when the rest of his staff would be completed.

Brown and Siravo were defensive assistants at Temple, and Cooper was director of player personnel for the Owls.

Wetzel, who has coached in the state high school ranks for 25 years, was serving as president of the Texas High School Football Coaches Association. He lettered at Baylor in 1990 and 1991 while playing for Grant Teaff, and also earned a master's degree from the school in 1994. Before Reagan, he was head coach at schools in Killeen and Austin.

Wetzel told the Waco Tribune-Herald that he expects to play a major role in recruiting, but didn't know yet if he'd be coaching offense or defense.

"Given the opportunity, it's really a unique deal," Wetzel told the newspaper. "I feel like it's God's timing for me to be in the right place at the right time."

When Rhule was introduced Wednesday in Waco, he said he had already received about 480 text messages, many from coaches. He also didn't rule out the possibility of some of the current Baylor assistants staying, but said he hadn't had a chance to meet with them. Those assistants were retained from former coach Art Briles' staff with Jim Grobe as acting head coach this season.

NoteBaylor announced Friday that Jalen Pitre, a defensive back from Stafford, Texas, signed a financial aid agreement that will allow him to enroll for the spring 2017 semester after graduating from high school early. Before Rhule was hired, Pitre was the only player verbally committed for Baylor's recruiting class in February. He had 83 tackles, six interceptions and four forced fumbles as a senior.

Dorial Green-Beckham didn't support any charity with his cleats last Sunday.

In reality, he was funding the NFL.

The Eagles' receiver was fined $6,076 by the NFL for wearing Yeezy cleats (Kanye West's shoes), which had no affiliation to a charitable organization or cause, CSNPhilly.com has confirmed. Players around the NFL last weekend wore decorative spikes supporting a charity or cause they felt passionately about as part of the league's My Cleats, My Cause promotion. Green-Beckham was fined because his cleats were unapproved by the league; earlier this season Houston receiver DeAndre Hopkins was fined for wearing Yeezy cleats.